Francis J. Degnan
Lesson 5 Crafts / Cardboard Carving
There are many crafts that can be associated with the Early Colonial period. In an earlier seminar, 1989’s America as Myth, I included a description of twenty three different craft areas. In addition there are lessons in that unit that involve tin punching-whitesmithing and weaving. The subject of this lesson is something called cardboard carving, this is an activity I have not come across in my studies of activities for this period. There are lessons that focus on stenciling, papermaking and macaroni wampum that should be included in a colonial crafts emphasis that are rather easy to find in texts that deal with this subject matter. Cardboard carving makes use of the flaps of the food boxes that are delivered to our schools. Many different effects can be created using the corrugated board.
Objective The students will be able to identify the names of different trades and have their own examples of the crafts.
Procedure The cardboard end flaps from the lunch boxes and an exacto-knife in addition to the crayons or markers is all that is required. Usually the teacher is the one who uses the knife, you just follow the students suggestions. This lesson developed from a visit to the Yale Art Gallery. I never really could get excited about much of the Early American furniture that they exhibit, but once again a docent led visited changed my mind. The settlers brought with them, in many case nothing more than what they could put in a chest, because of the limited space on the vessels of the time.
Once established in this country they not only had those special items that they would unpack for special occasions but also began to accumulate other things that they might use more often, but want to take equally good care of. This necessitated the addition of a draw to the chest and led eventually to the chest of draws. This development is wonderfully illustrated at Yale. The most intriguing detail was the artistry that went into the joiner’s efforts. Again there are simple stylized fold carvings present in a majority of the work. The wood’s surface was made to have a variety of textures and gouged reliefs. To some degree this can be done with cardboard. Including a brief discussion of this area along with the study of the portraiture is possible. I have a few slides, again at the Institute office that include examples of the folk art. Folk art is simple and clear students are usually sure they can do it at least as well. Most of the examples include the owner’s initials, which in turn personalizes this exercise when the young artists follow the established lead. I found with the younger students I cut along their lines. They used nothing more than a sharpened pencil to remove the different layers of the cardboard. Finally, they colored the different areas, their work was stunning! Good luck!